The Future of Digital Marketing, Part 2: Virtual & Augmented Reality

The reality we reside in is rapidly progressing, with technological advancements taking place at a faster rate than anytime in recorded history.

But if I were to ask you what pops into your head when you hear the word ‘Future’, what would it be?

It wouldn’t be fewer miles per gallon on your car, calculators on phones, or some other practical application of technology we wield today, right?

No, when you think of the word ‘Future’, you think of the fantastic and conjure up memories of Star Wars or The Jetsons. Things like teleportation, space travel or virtual reality.

Teleportation, unfortunately, appears to be impossible. Space travel has made steady ground, thanks in part to the efforts of SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, but is still a long way off from being consistently dependable.

Virtual reality, however? That’s realistic. As a matter of fact, we’ve been building on it since Edwin Albert Link filed a patent for a flight simulator in 1930.

Known as the Link Trainer, the simulator mimicked actual flight and served as a safe and inexpensive method of teaching potential pilots how to navigate poor weather conditions.

In 1978, virtual reality took another gargantuan step. Aspen Movie Map created an accurate first-person map in a manner Google Maps would mimic today; with a camera on top of their car, it would record every street in the area.

Google Maps in its current state allows us to appreciate this groundbreaking ingenuity. Even though, at the time, ARPA was considered to be a waste of money.

Nowadays, no one considers research and development in augmented and virtual reality to be a waste of money or time. Rather, the advances in this field present significant business opportunities.

And if there’s money to be made, there will be an investor.

Marketing and Augmented Reality

Let’s examine some of these modern marvels; beginning with something I’m sure we’ve all become familiar with:

Pokemon Go has taken the world by storm, amassing more daily users than Twitter in just a few short weeks. Savvy business owners have been using the game to attract users to their business. By using ‘Lures’ on the app and placing them outside of their store, users flock, where some will inevitably enter the business itself.

Niantic, Pokemon Go’s developer, has plans to trek the aforementioned route on a larger scale. They’ve already entered a partnership with Japan, turning 2,500 McDonalds into stops and the remaining 400 into gyms.

Snapchat is offering companies sponsorship of their lenses and geofilters. Gatorade has already done so with unbelievable success, generating over 165 million views on their Snapchat campaign during the Super Bowl. By comparison, only 114.4 million people watched the game! You can learn more about Snapchat’s intertwined future with digital marketing here:

Ikeais launching an app that will show users a 3D, life-size model of how prospective furniture will look in their home.

360-degree videos have generated a buzz. Check out this unreal ad by Clash of Clans as an example of the limitless possibilities:

Want to test drive a car without going to the dealership? How about a roller coaster? Or something as simple as a local karate class? Virtual reality has no limitations. We just have to wait and see what the future unfolds.

Advertise outside of your store. When a potential customers walks down the street, stores can advertise and display promotions on that customers’ augmented reality device. Think Google Glass.

When you see ads on TV or a billboard, you would be able to see that company’s website on your augmented reality glasses. Once again, think Google Glass.

Create the illusion that you are at a certain event. Imagine being in the seats during Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals series clinching game-winner. These sorts of opportunities could present themselves at any major event from the past.

Challenging the norm is what has led innovators to creating these new realities.

Here at One Twelfth, we take pride in predicting and tackling the constantly adapting and changing field of Digital Marketing. Let us help you grow your business and achieve your goals by implementing our unique approach to enhancing your brand.